DISCOVERINGTRUSTWORTHY

CHARIT IES

H O L D E N B U C K N E R

HOLDENBUCKNER. INFO

Deciphering whether or not a charitable

organization is a functioning, corrupt-free

philanthropic body is one of the most difficult tasks

for charity givers and avid donors across the

country. With the plethora of charitable

organizations available to individuals focusing a

needs ranging from helping the needy to rebuilding

the community, conducting research to evaluate if

a specific charity is a trustworthy organization is

essential.

In 2015, Federal Trade Commission and law

enforcement partners from every state and the

District of Columbia charged discovered four

cancer charities that failed to allocate funds to

members related to their cause or mission.

Instead, these charities chose to use donated

funds that were not only unrelated to the

mission, but also benefitted internal

management.

Instead of helping cancer patients, the heads of

the Cancer Fund of America, Cancer Support

Services, Children’s Cancer Fund of America,

and the Breast Cancer Society allegedly

funneled donations into luxury cruises, college

tuition for family members and friends,

sporting event and concert tickets, and even

dating website memberships.

Some useful organizations that help

donors decipher a charity’s validity are

the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Charity

Navigator, and CharityWatch. In

addition to examining including how

much of your donation actually

reaches the people you are trying to

help.

CharityWatch gives its top rating to about a

third of the more than 600 charities it

evaluates. Charity Navigator, which looks at

more than 8,000 organizations, allows you to

rate charities regardless of region or locale,

by . Charity Navigator also offers easy,

simple to do lists for donors and fundraisers

to examine before giving funds to a certain

organization.

Indications of charity scams:

-Unable to provide a Federal tax ID number

—that it’s a qualified charity and that your

donation is tax-deductible

-Wired donations are the norm

-Be skeptical of charitable solicitations that come

via email even if you haven’t signed up to

receive electronic communications from said

charity or organization

Unfortunately, scams within charitable

organizations are often times way more

common than you may actually think.

Following these simple tips will help you to

make smarter decisions when choosing,

donating and volunteering time at charitable

organizations that could potentially be harmful

to the cause.

This post was originally published on

Holden's Buckner's charity site:

HOLDENBUCKNER.INFO